Elgar Encyclopedia of City and Place Branding
This Encyclopedia presents a comprehensive overview of the dynamic field of city and place branding. Authored by nearly 150 experts from across the globe, it covers a wide variety of disciplines, methodologies and perspectives, highlighting cutting-edge developments and exploring avenues for future research.
Entries discuss the complexities and opportunities surrounding city and place branding, delving into topics ranging from artificial intelligence and immersive digital experiences to integrated marketing communication and the interplay of politics and culture. Emphasising the growing role of sustainability and responsible tourism, contributing authors underscore the potential of place branding in addressing ongoing social and environmental challenges.
Key Features:
● Over 100 entries written by leading scholars and practitioners
● Combines detailed theoretical discussions with case studies, field research and practical applications
● Expands the boundaries of the field beyond the traditional focus on cities, with entries examining the branding of clusters, destinations, islands and rural areas
This interdisciplinary Encyclopedia is a vital resource for students and scholars of marketing, tourism, human geography and planning. Its recommendations will also benefit policymakers and practitioners looking to deepen their understanding of city and place branding.‘This Encyclopedia gives a concise, clever, insightful overview of terms commonly associated with place branding. As the concept becomes more popular in theory and practice, there is a fear it descends into something we think we all know so risk deluding its power. This book showcases how complex the topic is, what the words mean in different contexts, and how to carefully apply definitions of place branding in research, practice, and beyond.
Researchers and practitioners alike now have a handy guide to reference when designing, implementing, and writing about city and country branding so there can be consistency in terms. Each section is situated within a larger context, making it easy to see how the terms fit within larger academic disciplines and conversation can carry beyond place branding brackets. This book has the power to cut across the place branding discipline into urban planning, public policy and administration, tourism management, political science, social science, and more. It is a must have for researchers in this area.’
– Staci M. Zavattaro, University of Central Florida, USA
‘The new Elgar Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive collection on City and Place Branding. The Encyclopedia goes far beyond the borders and imagination of conventional thinking in the field and provides a truly global array of topics written by leading and emerging scholars. Bravo to the editors for compiling this monumental work!’
– R. S. Zaharna, American University, USA
‘The Elgar Encyclopedia of City and Place Branding not only systematizes existing theoretical and practical knowledge on place branding but also approaches novel subjects. It is set to be a landmark publication that will enrich our understanding of the complex dynamics of place identity and development for years to come.’
– José Cadima Ribeiro, University of Minho, Portugal
‘The Elgar Encyclopedia of City and Place Branding is a must-read for anyone interested in the field of place branding. It covers an extensive number of relevant topics, written by an impressive number of contributors. The contributors are leading researchers and practitioners in the place branding field. It is a remarkable publication worth reading.’
– João Freire, IPAM – The Marketing Business School and ICNOVA, Portugal
Nation Branding in the Americas
Nation Branding in the Americas: Contested Politics and Identities provides an overview of nation branding in the Americas, an often neglected continent(s) in debates about the creation, dissemination and management of national images.
Drawing on insights from promotional cultures, nationalism, geopolitics, media and communication, as well as their own research, the authors look at national promotion experiences in twelve countries – Canada, the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile – , examining how these cases relate to broader challenges and commonalities, such as the relationship between nation branding and stereotypes, invisibility, heritage or internal contradictions.
Nation Branding in the Americas: Contested Politics and Identities is an important contribution to the study of practices and concepts such as nation branding, public diplomacy, soft power, and strategic communication. It highlights the multifaceted nature of nation branding, and how this can be used to perpetuate local and global hierarchies, legitimize the agendas of specific governments, and discipline the inhabitants of a nation, but also become a venue for people to negotiate and communicate the kind of society they want to be. The book will therefore be of interest for undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral students specialized in marketing, media and communication, and international relations. It will also appeal to professionals in public diplomacy, strategic communication, public relations, and branding, offering a broad overview to the practice and discussion of national promotion in an increasingly contested and cacophonic global communication environment.
Back Cover Reviews
“Keith Dinnie’s Nation Branding handbooks are classics. They have established themselves as the go-to course materials and this Nation Branding in the Americas companion book is a great addition to the series. It is a real tour de force to provide this kaleidoscopic view of countries in the region, many of which do not get much coverage elsewhere.”
– Robert Govers, author of Imaginative Communities: Admired cities, regions and countries.
“Nation Branding in the Americas is a probing and path-breaking book on the popular yet controversial practice of how nations try to enhance their reputations and promote their images in the global arena. While the book focus is on countries throughout the Americas, the critical questions the authors raise could be asked, and indeed need to be asked about campaigns in other nations around the world: What is the motivation behind the design of the nation branding campaign, what are the levers that make it a success or failure, and ultimately, who really benefits from the campaign? Students and researchers will appreciate the contextual background and cultural insights in the campaign profiles and analyses.”
– R.S.Zaharna, Professor, School of Communication, American University, Washington, DC
“Nation Branding in the Americas provides an important survey of strategic branding activities in the Western hemisphere that should inspire future studies of branding and public diplomacy efforts. Sevin, Jiménez-Martínez and Miño’s work is necessary, not only because it covers cases that need wider attention, but because it does not shy away from persistent cross-disciplinary theoretical questions surrounding branding and public diplomacy practices. This thought-provoking comparative study raises critical questions about the stakeholders to branding efforts and the intended purpose of branding-based influence.”
– Craig Hayden, Associate Professor of Strategic Studies, Security Studies Department Head, Marine Corps University, Quantico, Virginia
“I am so excited about this book! Not only it focuses on a fascinating topic (nation brands & nation-branding), but it does so centering in the region of Latin America [while including the United States and Canada for comparative purposes]. Its three authors (two of them Latin Americans) are well-respected experts in this area, and the “clustering” of country cases according to branding commonalities and challenges makes a lot of sense. This book is a must-read for those interested in strategic communications, marketing, political science, tourism, international relations, public diplomacy, and more.”
– Vanessa Bravo, co-editor of the book Latin American Diasporas in Public Diplomacy, Assistant Dean and Professor, School of Communications. Elon University, Elon, North Carolina
Read the book excerpt on LSE Review of Books
Read the recent review on LSE Review of Books
Read the recent review on Journal of Public Diplomacy
City Diplomacy Current Trends and Future Prospect
This edited volume provides an inclusive explanation of what, why, and how cities interact with global counterparts as well as with nation states, non-governmental organizations, and foreign publics. The chapters present theoretical and analytical approaches to the study of city diplomacy as well as case studies to capture the nuances of the practice. By bringing together a diverse group of authors in terms of their geographic location, academic and practitioner backgrounds, the volume speaks to multiple disciplines, including diplomacy, political science, communication, sociology, marketing and tourism.
See the recent review on the Hague Journal of Diplomacy.
Back Cover Reviews
From networking, to branding, to collaboration strategies, to agenda setting and global governance, City Diplomacy: Current Trends and Future Prospects takes a major leap forward in advancing city diplomacy from narrow national perspectives to an expansive, dynamic international vision of what city diplomacy needs to be in the years ahead.
City diplomacy is en vogue – as urban centers gain importance and power, reaching out to publics is no longer optional. But how do cities work together, how do they strengthen their soft power and practice diplomacy? Find out from some of world’s leading scholars and thinkers on the topic, who share their insights and cases from around the world. One of the very few books we’ll recommend as essential reading this year, on PlaceBrandObserver.com.
Florian M. Kaefer, PhD
Founder of The Place Brand Observer and the Sustainability Leaders Project
Public diplomacy works, but how? In a lively, engaging and informative style, Cities and city networks have stayed largely under the radar of students of diplomacy, even though there are many ways in which cities contribute to the making of global politics. I have no doubt that a new generation of researchers will welcome this book and its many ideas. It is simply a long-awaited contribution to the literature on diplomacy.
Jan Melissen
Editor-in-Chief The Hague Journal of Diplomacy
Senior Fellow at Leiden University, the Netherlands,
Professor at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.
From managing the impact of climate change, to homelessness, to crippling pandemics, cities are being challenged to solve global problems at the local level. Amiri and Sevin have compiled a rich collection of studies that combine innovative thinking, solid research, workable practices and policies, and grounded theoretical frameworks for a new generation of scholarship on city diplomacy. From networking, to branding, to collaboration strategies, to agenda setting and global governance, City Diplomacy: Current Trends and Future Prospects takes a major leap forward in advancing city diplomacy from narrow national perspectives to an expansive, dynamic international vision of what city diplomacy needs to be in the years ahead.
R.S. Zaharna
School of Communication, American University
Public Diplomacy and the Implementation of Foreign Policy in the US, Sweden and Turkey
This book presents a comprehensive framework, six pathways of connection, which explains the impact of public diplomacy on achieving foreign policy goals. The comparative study of three important public diplomacy practitioners with distinctive challenges and approaches shows the necessity to move beyond soft power to appreciate the role of public diplomacy in global politics. Through theoretical discussions and case studies, six pathways of connection is presented as a framework to design new public diplomacy projects and measure their impact on foreign policy.
See the recent book review on International Studies Review.
Back Cover Reviews
“Efe Sevin’s comparative study of public diplomacy is timely and insightful. While public diplomacy is seen as central to 21st century statecraft, it remains remarkably lumpen in theoretical development and application. Especially productive is Sevin’s seamless weaving of theory and practice, making substantive contributions to the episteme of public diplomacy practice, as well as a framework for future research. This is a must read for international communication scholars and students alike.”
Shawn Powers, Executive Director,Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, US Department of State
“Public diplomacy works, but how? In a lively, engaging and informative style, Sevin traces six pathways of connection to show how a well-designed public diplomacy project can help advance a country’s foreign policy goals and national interests. A valuable read on comparative public diplomacy for students and practitioners.”
R.S. Zaharna, Professor, School of Communication, American University, USA
“Efe Sevin provides a valuable comparative study of European and American public diplomacy practices that will prove vital for scholars and practitioners. His approach shows, for public diplomacy it is crucial to take the political environment into consideration, especially in times when nationalists and populism are on the rise. These challenges can only be addressed by moving beyond disciplinary boundaries.”
Diana Ingenhoff, Professor of Organizational Communication, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Controlling the Message: A Strategic Approach to Nation Branding
This book explores and discusses the role of strategic communication in the nation branding process. Nation branding is fundamentally related to managing the perceptions of the audiences. Therefore, brand promises and messages carry the upmost importance in assessing the success of these campaigns. Three fundamental facets are introduced and explored in order to analyze how messages are crafted and disseminated. Firstly, the definition and components of nation branding are discussed. Subsequently, the concept of nation branding is evaluated, with particular focus on the communication tools, rhetorical mechanisms, and media platforms that can be used to reach target audiences. Finally, the role of strategic planning in nation branding is analyzed. The findings of this research will help scholars and practitioners to highlight the rhetorical aspects and strategic planning of future nation branding campaigns.
Reaching the Public 